Successful marketing means compelling people to act and creating lifetime relationships. The goal of all firms should be to better their relationships with clients so as not to spend extra time, money and resources looking for new ones.

As Seth Godin stated in his book, Permission Marketing, “As marketers, we usually don’t approach our clients like we would approach our spouse, do we?”

The truth is no. We approach our clients as if they were passing by. It is the wrong thing to do, but we do it anyway.

Now take a long- term relationship. Clients stick around longer, are more engaged, and they spread how they feel about you by word of mouth because they love you. That’s what I call “Lifetime Value”.

When was the last time you looked at your behavior? Are you solely focused on the number of clicks from your e-newsletter, hits to your website or visits to you LinkedIn profile? The goal in marketing is not the number of hits but the long-term relationships that drive your business.

The First Date

E-Newsletter marketing is often a test to see if your relationship is worthy of mutual respect. It allows the parties to recognize the importance of two-way communication and acknowledging if they are a good fit.

Southwest Airlines offers an email notice for locations that you frequently fly to and from to get the best airfare. They offer a VISA card that gives points resulting in free flights. They send birthday cards and drink coupons as a way of saying thank you for being a customer. They give companion passes when you reach a certain threshold so you can travel with someone you “LUV” for free, notifying you by email.

They are building a lifetime of valuable relationships and it all starts with a first date.